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U.S. NEWS Monday 12 october 2020
White House virus aid offer is panned by Pelosi, Senate GOP

By ANDREW TAYLOR aid in the first place, and
Associated Press Pelosi-sought provisions
WASHINGTON (AP) — A such as expanding eligibil-
new White House corona- ity for the Affordable Care
virus aid offer got bad re- Act landed with a thud.
views from both ends of the Pragmatists such as Sen.
political spectrum on Satur- Susan Collins, R-Maine, and
day. politically endangered Re-
House Speaker Nancy Pe- publicans including Sen.
losi, D-Calif., rejected the Lindsey Graham of South
most generous Trump ad- Carolina appear willing to
ministration plan to date "go big" as Trump wants. But
as "one step forward, two rank-and-file Republicans
steps back." The Repub- — Sens. Marsha Blackburn
licans who control the of Tennessee, Rick Scott of
Senate dismissed it as too Florida, and John Barrasso
expensive and a political of Wyoming, for example
loser for conservatives. — are adamantly opposed
Pelosi said she is still hope- to another relief bill that's so
ful that progress can be generous.
made toward a deal but it's GOP Senate Majority Lead-
as clear as ever that GOP er Mitch McConnell remains
conservatives don't want a skeptical of the chances for
deal on her terms. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., questions President Donald Trump's fitness to serve an agreement, having told
The White House had boost- following his hospitalization for COVID-19, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, an audience in Kentucky
Friday, Oct. 9, 2020.
ed its offer before Treasury Associated Press on Friday that he didn't see
Secretary Steven Mnuchin a deal coming together
and Pelosi spoke on Friday lion. The White House says talks about wanting a big- us closer to an agreement before Election Day. "I think
afternoon. President Don- its most recent offer before ger relief package, his pro- on a relief package that it's unlikely in the next three
ald Trump is eager for an that was about $1.6 trillion. posal appears to mean addresses the health and weeks," McConnell said
agreement before Election The aides were not autho- that he wants more money economic crisis facing Friday. He said later that
Day, even as his most pow- rized to publicly discuss at his discretion to grant or America's families," Pelosi's "the first item of priority of
erful GOP ally in the Senate private negotiations and withhold." letter said. the Senate is the Supreme
said Congress is unlikely to spoke on condition of ano- She said that while his ad- Mnuchin's latest offer also Court," suggesting there
deliver relief by then. nymity. ministration attempted to got a roasting from GOP isn't time to process both a
"Covid Relief Negotiations Pelosi's most recent public address some of the Demo- senators, who weighed in relief bill and the high court
are moving along. Go Big!" offer was about $2.2 tril- cratic concerns, disagree- on a conference call Satur- nomination of Judge Amy
Trump said Friday on Twit- lion, though that included ment remained on many day morning, according to Coney Barrett before the
ter. a business tax increase that priorities and Democrats a Republican familiar with Nov. 3 election. President
The new offer totals about Republicans won't go for. are "awaiting language" on the call who was not au- Donald Trump has been all
$1.8 trillion, aides familiar In a letter Saturday to col- several provisions. thorized to discuss the call over the map, first as one
with it said, with a key state leagues, Pelosi said, "This "Despite these unad- publicly and spoke on con- of the forces in favor of a
and local fiscal relief com- proposal amounted to one dressed concerns, I remain dition of anonymity. Many deal, then killing the talks
ponent moving from $250 step forward, two steps hopeful that yesterday's conservatives are skeptical on Tuesday, only to revive
billion to at least $300 bil- back. When the president developments will move of so much deficit-financed them by weeks' end. q

Workers allegedly dumping some border wall waste into Mexico

PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. litter the ground, accord- tion waste workers have state of Sonora. barriers on their property.
Army Corps of Engineers ing to the Arizona Repub- dumped across the bor- U.S. Customs and Border Loaded vehicles and
is investigating allegations lic. The construction work- der into Mexico. Protection is overseeing semitrucks have regularly
that workers have illegally ers “throw the metal our U.S. companies aren’t the ongoing construction passed by on this high-
dumped waste from bor- way,” Julio Espinoza told authorized to dump de- of 212 miles of newer phys- way, hauling tons of metal
der wall construction into the newspaper. “We ask molition and construction ical barriers along Arizo- on their way to the scrap
Mexico, where the metal for it and they toss it our waste across international na’s border with Mexico, yards in Sonoyta.
is being sold on the black way. We then pick it up boundaries, according to including the 43 miles un- Construction at the Or-
market. and sell it. We don’t have the Republic. der construction at Organ gan Pipe Cactus National
Crews on the Arizona side a job because of the coro- The construction site is lo- Pipe. Monument began in Au-
of the border have demol- navirus in Mexico, so that’s cated in Organ Pipe Cac- The men and women gust 2019.
ished the metal barriers where we make money to tus National Monument in scavenging for metal said With a scheduled comple-
filled with concrete that support our families.” southern Arizona and can the dumping has been tion date of November,
once marked the interna- Espinoza said he and oth- be seen from the Mexican going on unchecked for crews already have built
tional boundary at various ers gather anything to sell side of the border. months. the majority of the 43 miles
locations. to scrap yards in the bor- A spokesperson for the Numerous businesses lining of new bollard fencing
The barriers are being der city of Sonoyta, locat- Army Corps of Engineers the federal highway on along Organ Pipe.
replaced with the taller ed across the border from said the agency is review- the Mexican side, which That means the booming
bollard panels, which are Lukeville, Arizona. ing “allegations of illegal runs parallel to the border black market in Mexico for
stacked a short distance It’s unclear how many dumping by one of our and the wall construction demolished fencing has
north of the border. tons of metal and oth- contractors” across the sites, contained stacks of already started to wind
Pieces of the older barriers er discarded construc- border into the Mexican the demolished vehicle down.q